Kim Cattrall is ready to make one thing clear: Samantha Jones may have been a cultural icon, but she was never her.
In a new interview with People, the 69-year-old actress opened up about life beyond Sex and the City, her evolving career, and how she’s learned to prioritize herself after decades in the spotlight.
“I remember in particular, doing that series, people wanted to speak to the character as opposed to me because she was fascinating, wonderful, smart and intelligent and sexy and irreverent,” Cattrall said. “But she wasn’t me.”
It’s been more than 20 years since Sex and the City ended in 2004, but Cattrall remains forever linked to Samantha, the brash, confident publicist whose sexual liberation helped redefine female sexuality on television. The character became a queer icon, celebrated for her unapologetic confidence and humor, but Cattrall is quick to note the distinction between the woman fans adored and the woman she actually is.
“Kim has taken over, and not the characters she’s played, in a very definite way,” she explained. “The last 10 years have been more about exploring me, not connected to my work, but my own choices.”
Cattrall now divides her time between London, New York City, and a quiet home on Vancouver Island — which she calls her “paradise.” There, she spends her days surrounded by nature, reading, and enjoying the slower pace of life with her partner, Russell Thomas. “It’s long walks. It’s reading books I’ve never had the time to read — or reread,” she shared. “It’s more solitary, just me and my partner.”
The How I Met Your Father star is also using her platform to speak candidly about menopause and women’s health through her partnership with Natural Cycles. Cattrall said she hopes to help women “understand themselves” through an often-misunderstood stage of life.
When it comes to acting, Cattrall is no longer interested in revisiting the same types of roles. “It’s all about the writing,” she said. “I don’t want to be on a set and realize that the character I’m playing is a character that I’ve already played many, many times before.”
Instead, she’s embracing new adventures, both on and off screen. She recently became an ambassador for Kew Gardens, just outside of London, and teased that she has two dream projects in the works. “I’m saying yes to what challenges me,” she added.
At nearly 70, Cattrall continues to redefine what reinvention looks like for women in Hollywood — proving that self-knowledge, confidence, and curiosity can be just as captivating as Samantha Jones herself.
